Building construction



Nov. 7, 1933. G. H. DEAN 1,934,260

BUILDING CONSTRUCTION Filed May 17, 1932 ,ii/7m .3 1927/6722?? PatentedNov. 7, 1933 narran STATES PATENT oFFIcs 4 Claims.

My present invention relates to the building art, and has particularreference to stationary mountings for supporting structures such ascolumns and the like.

Modern building construction requires Vstructural elements and partsready for assembly, in order to reduce the working time and tofacilitate the building erection. Parts such as tubular support columns,for example, are furnished the building contractor complete withconcrete centers, in specified lengths. Although the parts are ofdeiinite length and form, they are not iinished smoothly, and thebearing surfaces are quite rough.

Since the necessity for speed in erection prevents accurate fitting ofthe parts to each other, there is a tendency for faulty alignment andfaulty bearing, due both to the lack of finish of the elementsthemselves, and to the ordinary variations in size, and positioning ofthe elements. rThus, in the case of support columns,

the caps and bases do not lock snugly with the column ends because theends are not finished smooth, because the caps and bases are generallyof cast material and are therefore rough, and because the caps and basesare rarely in axial alignment with the columns, due to the unavoidableslight variations in thickness of materials and in mounting the columnsin place.

It is the principal object of my invention to devise a supportarrangement which will compensate .ior the usual bearing inequalitiesfound in building construction. To this end, I have devised a deformablebearing arrangement which equalizes and distributes the bearing pressureover the entire surface of the bearing element, thus eliminating rockingand concentration of pressure on peak points of the bearing parts and Ihave designed the deformable bearing elements to be of standard form andreadily mounted in operative position.

With the above and other advantageous features in View, my inventionconsists of a novel arrangement oi parts more fully disclosed in thedetailed description following, in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawing, and more specically deiined in the claims appended hereto.

In the drawing,

Fig. 1 is an elevation of a support column embodying the novel supportarrangement;

Fig. 2 is a Vertical section through Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged section of a column end prior to assembly; and

Fig. l is a plan View of the novel cushion ring.

Referring to the drawing, the support colrunn l0 has a cap l1 and base12 of standard type, the base being usually heavier than the cap. Thecolumn 10 is formed of a tubular metal 'shell 13 lled with concrete 14;the ends of the concrete are provided with annular recesses 15, 16, inwhich bearing material 17 is mounted, the surface ofthe bearing materialbeing aligned with the surface of the concrete and filling the spacebetween the column ends and the cap and base.

Referring now to Fig. 3, the upper end of the column as it appears priorto assembly is shown in enlarged form; the recess 15 has a bearing ring18 of peculiar form mounted therein and locked to the concrete byprojections or pins 19. The bearing ring is made of bearing metal, suchas lead, babbitt or the like, and has an annular recess 20 and anupstanding annular ridge 21, which as illustrated is sloped towards therecess 20. When the column, the cap and the base are assembled, thepressure forces the ridge 21 down 75 into the recess 20 until thebearing surfaces of the column ends are flush with the face of the capand base.

As shown in Fig. 2, the cap and the base have annular flanges 22, 23which hug the outer surface 80 of the column; the metal of the bearingring cannot escape, but is locked in between the column ends and the capand base respectively, and thus completely lls the spaces resulting fromthe unfinished surfaces and provides a rigid support in 85. conjunctionwith the concrete, the pressure being uniformly distributed andequalized over the entire bearing surface.

The rings 18 are preferably inserted as by a pressing tool of usualtype, into the column ends while the concrete is still soft, the pins 19thus locking the rings in the column ends as the concrete sets. Ifdesired, the rings may be separate, and inserted into the concreterecesses just prior to assembly, as the pressure will force the metaltightly into the recesses.

The novel construction thus compensates for roughness of the bearingsurfaces and minor alignment faults, distributes and equalizes thebearing pressures, and ensures firm' assembly 100 without rocking of thecolumns, caps and bases. The use of a cushion ring of the type describedis also advantageous in other bearing arrangements, as for settingtoilet seats, wash stands, and the like, in place in a firm manner toeliminate rocking due to faulty alignment.

The cushion ring may be inserted in the cap or base, instead of in thecolumn, by providing the cap or base with an annular recess to receivethe w cushion ring. If desired, the ring may be mounted il@ by beingpoured into the annular recess provided in the column, or the cap andthe base, or may be set in the green concrete of the column.

The columns may be cut with plane ends, but are preferably cut so as toturn the edges of the metal shell inwardly, thus forming a clamp forpreventing outward displacement of the deformable material and lockingit in place; the cushion ring is preferably set slightly below the planeof the end of the metal shell.

The use of a cushion ring as above described has been found to resistdrag or pull of the parts, as lead and similar soft metals and materialsinterpose a Very substantial friction to sliding of the bearing parts,particularly when under the bearing pressure. The pressure of thecushion ring also tends to eliminate vibration, as the material lls allthe spaces and crevices to join the column, cap and base into a solidunit.

While I have described a specific constructional embodiment of myinvention, itis obvious that desired changes in the arrangement of theparts, in their shape, and in the materials used, may be made to accordwith the requirements for par-v ticular installations, Within the spiritand the scope of the invention as deiined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A support column having a tubular shell of metal, a concrete coreproviding a bearing surface at one end of said column, and a ring ofdeformable metal mounted in said bearing surface and normally extendingbeyond the column face.

2. A support Vcolumn having a tubular shell of metal, a concrete coreproviding a bearing surface at one end of said column having an annularrecess in said bearing surface, and a ring of deformable metal mountedin said annular recess and normally extending beyond the column face.

3. A support column having a tubular shell of metal, a concrete coreproviding a bearing surface at one end of said column having an annularrecess in said bearing surface, a ring of deformable metal mounted insaid annular recess and normally extending beyond the column face, saidring having a recess and an upstanding ridge adjacent said recess andinclined thereto.

Y 4. A support column having a tubular shell of metal, a concrete coreproviding a bearing surface at one end of said column, and a mass ofdeformable metal mounted in said bearing surface and normally extendingbeyond the column face.

GEORGE H. DEAN.

